Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush has unveiled his plan for a replacement for the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. He has vowed to repeal the current health care law if he is elected president.
Bush's plan would accomplish three goals: to promote innovation, to lower costs, and to return power to states, he said in a speech in Manchester, NH. His plan would increase tax credits for individuals, allowing them to buy coverage protection against "high-cost medical events." His plan guarantees coverage for people with pre-existing health conditions, which is a key component of Obama's overhaul of the nation's health care system.
"Innovations, not mandates, will bring down health care costs," Bush said. "If we're going to fix health care in this country, we need to wrest control away from Washington and give it back to the states, citizens, and their care providers."
Under Bush's plan, individual Americans could get higher tax credits if they buy health insurance and there would be higher limits on contributions to health savings accounts for out-of-pocket expenses. He also would put limits on malpractice lawsuits and would change regulations imposed by the Food and Drug Administration as a way to help spur innovation in the health care industry. His plan would include caps on federal payments to states, limits on the tax-free status of health insurance provided by employers, and a transition plan for people as they switch from Obamacare.
However, Bush offered no specifics on how many people would be left without health care coverage under his proposed plan.
During his speech describing his healthcare plan, Bush took no questions from the audience.
Repealing Obamacare has been strongly urged by all the Republican presidential candidates and has been a linchpin for the Republican Party's platform since it was created. In Congress, there have been more than 50 attempts to repeal the law, all of them failing.
Jeb Bush is currently trailing in the polls behind Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, and Marco Rubio.